


The Fragments Of Our Future

by Violet_Scarelli



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Genre: Action/Adventure, I would use archive warnings but that would be spoilers, MCGA/Original Crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-04-29 01:50:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14462457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violet_Scarelli/pseuds/Violet_Scarelli
Summary: Magnus, Alex and their gang are swept up into a quest to find an artifact that can and hopefully will change all of their destinies. It won't be easy, though, as somebody else wants this destiny-altering power for themselves.





	1. Falafel And Perfectly Normal Elevators

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is chapter one of a story I'm currently writing. I know where it's going and how it will end, I just don't know how long it'll take, so please bear with me. For any of you that are confused on the original chars that appear in this story, I'll post their character sheets at some point in the future. Sorry if the chapters are excessively short, they do get longer (I think) as the story progresses.
> 
> One more quick mini-note: any time you see a horizontal line, that denotes a perspective shift from one character to the other. Chapters also start from a different char's perspective, usually flip-flopping back and forth between Alex and Magnus. I tried to make it as clear as possible as to who's speaking.

Alex and I were on our third date, and naturally, we were going for falafel. Because falafel. I don’t need to explain myself any more than that. Of course, Alex and I both being demigods and _einherji_ , our date was about as uneventful as Ragnarok itself.

 

It all started at about one in the afternoon. We were talking and laughing at Fadlan’s, eating The Best Falafel In The Nine Worlds, when an elevator decided to show up outside. It wasn’t attached to anything, but rather was using jets of white flame that came from its underside to stay aloft. Totally normal elevator behavior. What really caught my eye, though, was the H.L. embossed on the doors. H.V. was short for Hotel Valhalla, where Alex and I resided, but H.L… that was interesting. Alex, naturally, wanted to go see where it was going to land.

“C’mon, Maggie. You can finish that later.” He got up and ran towards the door.

I grumbled, not wanting to leave my precious falafel to hungry pigeons or shapeshifting eagles. “Alright…” I stuffed as many falafels as I could into my mouth, and walked after Alex, chewing slowly.

 

When I got outside, the elevator had touched down across the street. Alex was already at the doors, waiting for them to open. They did, with a perfectly normal ‘ding’. Out tumbled five people. Wait. Four people and a robot. Seeing as I had never seen a robot before except in video games, I expected it to get up and kill me.

 

“Where the hell are we, Xavier?” The robot spoke with an ever-so-slight British accent. Not what I expected at all.

A guy in a mesmerizing hoodie -presumably Xavier- spoke. “I don’t know, Vaynor.” Apparently the robot was Vaynor.

An elf in some seriously purple clothes got up and dusted himself off. “Calm down, all of you. We should have shaken them off for the time being.” Then he noticed Alex and me. “Oh, hello.” This was spoken as casually as if he was meeting someone on the street.

“Hi?”

A pair of black shoes slid into my vision. “Um…” A giggle floated down to my ears as the owner of the shoes landed on the pavement in front of me. “I’m June!” The person in front of me was obviously female, but there was something… off about her. She had white hair, despite appearing young. Her eyes were these giant puddles of green on her face. Her grin reminded me disturbingly of the Cheshire Cat. To top it all off, her dress was shredded at the hem.

She giggled again. “Oh, I get that a lot.”

My paranoia jumped a few notches. “Get what a lot?”

“That I grin like the Cheshire Cat.” Oh Helheim. She could read minds.

“Not minds. Just… context, I guess.” This was going to be fun.

 

* * *

 

After seeing these people come out of a flying elevator that was WAY cooler than the one that Charlie Bucket had, this felt less like a daydream and more like a hallucination. Poor Maggie was freaking out for some reason, but there was still one person that we hadn’t met, and I was gods damn curious! Said person was hiding behind Xavier. Not in a oh-gods-they’re-gonna-kill-me kinda way, more like a I-don’t-really-want-to-be-seen way.

I walked over, and gently peeled Xavier aside. “Hi.” The person met my eyes, and I felt as if someone had hit me with a brick.

They had the exact same qualities as me. Same eyes, both brown though, same female chin and small nose, but pulling back a bit and looking at all of them, the same _undecidedness_ . They really could have gone either way, just like me. My brain kicked back into gear. “I’m Alex. Male pronouns.” I don’t know why I tossed that last bit on there. Maybe it was sort of a _hey, I understand what you go through_ kind of thing?

“I’m Isa. Agender pronouns for the time being.” They shook my hand with a definite sense of shyness. _For the time being_ …? Interesting. The elf spoke suddenly, staring at a device on her wrist. “Wait a second. If this thing is working correctly, and the time’s right… “ They trailed off, and pointed at Maggie. “You’re Magnus Chase.” They pointed at me. “And you’re Alex Fierro.” I was stunned. “How the Helheim did you-”

“Know your names? I’ve been watching for a long time now, Alex.” I pulled out my trusty garrote. This person, threat or not, needed to give me some answers.


	2. We Learn Old History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things start picking up!
> 
> To whomever reads this, PLEASE tell me if I should fix the whole "dialogue is supposed to be all fancy and start on a new line for each speaker" thing cause I will totally go back through and fix all the dialogue if that's what you want me to do. I literally did not know that existed until yesterday.

Good old Alex. When in doubt, attempt to strangle. That didn’t really work in this case. Just before the garrotte wire hit him, the elf simply _vanished_. He reappeared about a foot to the right, but that alone was enough to seriously piss Alex off.

“Stand still, you slimy little-” I’ll omit the rest, as it was quite colorful, even for Alex. Exactly one minute passed while Alex repeatedly attempted to strangle and/or decapitate the elf, all without success. Eventually, I assumed our mystery person was tired of the attempts on his life. Without any visible movement, Alex’s garrotte was suddenly wrapped around his own neck, the handles still in his hands.

The elf was standing behind him. “Look. I came here to deliver the message of a lifetime, so would you please stop trying to slice my head off.” Alex fumed, but I could see the sudden flash of fear that had ignited in his eyes. I didn’t blame him. Someone who could move that fast…? This was going to be a long day.

 

* * *

 

 

I was still seriously mad at whoever the Helheim this elf was. She did NOT have the authority to hold my garrotte! It was mine. Still, the “message of a lifetime” thing got to me.

“What is this message?” My tone was carefully guarded as I untangled my garrotte from around my neck.

The elf straightened her hair and spoke. “It’s about Ragnarok.”

That got my attention. “ _The_ Ragnarok?”

“Well, unless you have a different Ragnarok in mind, yes. That one.”

“What’s the message?”

But she wasn’t going to give it to me as easy as that. “As you all should know, Ragnarok is the end of all the Nine Worlds. But what you don’t know is that Ragnarok is also the end of most of the other worlds as well.”

Other worlds? The white-haired girl, June, spoke up. “Yes, other worlds. Other timelines, in fact.”

Wait. Did she just…

“No, I can just read context.”

_Now_ I saw why Maggie was freaked out earlier. Nevertheless, I was still curious. “Continue, if you don’t mind.”

“Thank you. As I was saying, Ragnarok will not only cause the end of _your_ worlds, but its effects are so great as to cause the destruction of many other timelines as well. Now, I would have taken my quest to the rulers of this world, the Norse gods, but you know how bureaucracy works.”

I nodded. The gods were great and all, but they were a bit inefficient when it came to making big decisions.

“Which is why I needed to find you two. I need a strike team. Ten people would be preferable, but we can stretch as far as fifteen if need be. You two plus us five makes seven, so-”

“Hold on a friggin’ minute.” I held up my hand. “Who says that we’re even in on this ‘quest’ in the first place? At least give us some details.”

Maggie had been wisely staying quiet up until now, but he had to go and ruin it. “Are we after anything? That’s what quests are usually about.”

The elf smiled slightly. “As a matter of fact, we are. Here.” She chucked a small disk, kind of like a CD, into the street. An honest-to-gods hologram popped out of it, displaying a nondescript quartz cube with lots of runes along the faces.

Magnus spoke first. “What is it?”

Xavier was the one to respond, this time. “It’s called the Greater Die of Destiny.”

The name alone was ominous. “And what exactly does this magic die do?”

Xavier spoke with a frankness that I immediately liked. “It gives the user the ability to reshape a timeline’s destiny.” The floor dropped out from under me. Okay, maybe frankness wasn’t all that great.

“WHAT?”

“I told you, it can reshape a timeline’s destiny.”

At least Maggie didn’t faint. That much I’ll give to him.

“Soooo… assuming you’re going after this thing, how do you plan to get it?”

The elf spoke again. “Quickly.” We got a real comedian here, people!

“Lemme guess. A lot of other people want this Greater Fate Die or whatever.”

“Exactly correct. Our chief enemy is time, in this case. So if you want to come, you have to decide in the next…” She looked at her watch. “Six hours.”

I reeled back. Six hours to make a decision like this? “What’s in it for us?”

For the first time since I met her, the elf grinned. “Well… the adventure of anyone’s existence.”

“Already had that.” I began to turn away. “Thanks, but no-”

“And an exit for you and Magnus, as well as anyone else who wants it.”

I stopped dead in my tracks. “Come again?”

“I can make you immortal. Truly immortal.” That got me thinking. “Well…”

The elf’s next words drove my decision home. “If we don’t recover this artifact, you, as well as all the other _einherji_ , will die in the next year. Possibly sooner.”

The only way we could all die like that was- “You’re saying…”

“I am.”

An unspoken agreement flashed between Maggie and me. “We’re in. Give us three hours to find our crew.”

 


	3. It's Team Floor 19!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of a bridge chapter, so please forgive me for the fact that it's short :(

“What the Helheim just happened?” Alex and I took a cab to the Forever 21 store that led back to Valhalla.

“We’re going on a quest to save the universe.” 

Wow. I mean, wow. Granted, we had already sort of done that, but what that elf had said… it seemed like a different level altogether compared to our quest to the  _ Naglfar _ . We walked through the portal, avoided a few errant spears, and headed for the elevators. One horrible Norwegian rendition of “Fly Me To The Moon” later, we were on Floor 19, my home.

 

“Alright people, it’s go time!” I knocked on doors, one after the other. “We’re going on a quest!” 

One by one, Mallory, T.J. and Halfborn stepped into the hallway. 

“A quest?” Mallory cocked her head. 

I began to try to explain what kind of quest, but was stopped by her hand. 

“Look, Magnus. You should know by now that we’re up for a quest. As long as we’re going together, we’re in.” 

T.J. and Halfborn nodded. 

That was a lot easier than I thought it would be. “Uh, okay. Anyone seen Blitz and Hearth?” 

 

Blitz and Hearth were actually sleeping in the courtyard connected to my room. Blitz was under a dark blanket to avoid sun exposure, and Hearth was… actually, I almost tripped over him, he was so well camouflaged in the daisies. 

“Hey, guys. Wake up.” Blitzen yawned. “Hey, Magnus. Good to see you again.” 

Hearthstone rolled over, and signed something that vaguely resembled a  _ hello _ . 

I signed a quick greeting back, then got straight down to business. “We’re going on a quest. You’re invited.” 

Good old Blitz jumped at the offer. “Sign me up!” Hearth was a bit more cautious.  _ What kind of quest? _ I quickly filled the two in, signing for Hearth.

Hearth paused for a second.  _ Oh boy. That’s a tall offer.  _

“Count me in anyways. I’m always up for any quest with you-” Blitz paused. “-and Hearth.” Hearth nodded. 

That caught my attention, but Blitz and Hearth were already up and out the door. “Meet us at Fadlan’s!” I called after them. 

“See you there!” Blitz waved as he left.

 

Sam was waiting in the hall. Leave it to her to realize something was up. Without my saying anything, she was packed and ready to go.

 

I made my way back to Fadlan’s with her, picking up my travel sack before leaving. Once I got there, I was treated to a wonderful sight. All my friends -Blitz, Hearth, Mallory, T.J., Halfborn and Alex- were standing outside in the street. The newcomers were standing outside their flying elevator. “So, what’s the plan? Do we take the elevator or-” 

The robot, Vaynor, cut me off with a quick chopping motion. “Elevator’s too small, and we need a lead as well.” 

“Alright. So where are we going?” 

The elf spoke again. “To the best place to start.” 

Could he be any less specific? 

“We’re going to Vi’s house. Specific enough for ya?” June smiled. 

I was never, EVER going to get used to that.


	4. A Smashed-Pottery Planet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this is longer enough for you peeps. ;3

The elf, who was apparently Vi, pulled a Jack. And by that I mean she slashed a hole in reality.

I could smell something through the hole. Something like flowers.

We went through, one by one, and I gasped as I stepped through. We had walked right into what looked like a gigantic crater valley thing. Chests were scattered all over the grass, leaving just enough room to have a good stretch-out, and there was a tiny, absolutely picturesque cottage in the center.

“This is all yours?”

Vi looked back over her shoulder. “Yeah. Built it myself.”

I was stunned. I wanted to live here. Like, forever. And I had to have Maggie. But other than that, this would be perfect.

“So, what are we looking for?”

“Hold on, let’s get to the house first.” We did, after about ten minutes of walking.

Vi held the door for us. “I’m sorry I haven’t properly introduced myself. I’m Violet Scarelli, mage and artist.”

That explained all the teleporting and the reality-tearing stuff. As for the artist part? I looked around the cottage. There were books, paintings, sketchbooks, and (my heart rose a little) pottery sculptures and vases.

“Nice place you’ve got.” Mallory immediately plopped herself down into the nearest armchair. “ _Gods_ , that feels good.”

I looked at Vi, who was perusing a leather-bound notebook.

“Got anything?”

“I believe I do.” She showed me an illustration of what was obviously the Die of Destiny, surrounded by a strange writing I couldn’t quite place.

“What’s all this?” I gestured at the loops, whorls, kinks and boxes that surrounded the cube.

“Oh, just a shorthand I developed. It’s designed sort of like cursive, so you don’t have to lift your pen.”

Made sense. “What’s it say?”

Vi looked over it quickly. “It’s just my notes on the topic. Mostly they cover my insights, and deductions. Point is, I realized something.” She pulled out the hologram disk again, and activated it, drawing some _oohs_ and _aahs_ , as well as some ASL exclamations. She pointed to the runes on the cube. “This is ancient Sylvan, the language of the-”

Hearth cut her off with a flurry of hands. _Of the elves! Are you saying that this die is elven-made?_

“I think it might be. Or by some other race that was related to the elves.”

My brain made a few quick deductions. “Maybe this artifact could only be used by an elf?”

“Unlikely. More likely that it could only be used by someone with an elf’s skill level.” Wow. That was really subtle. Putting that aside, I got the conversation back on track. “What does this have to do with where it is?”

“Temporal artifacts emit a unique energy signature.”

Again, really on point here. “So?”

“So, combine that with the fact that this is most likely elven-made, and we have a viable list of places to start. Most of them are ruined temples, but the older it is, the more likely the Die’s there.” Vi began handing out booklets full of locations. “If something speaks to you, tell me.”

I got my booklet, and had a cursory flip through it. Mostly temples, as Vi had said. There was one odd entry, though. I flipped back, and looked at it. It wasn’t just a ruined temple. No, no. This was an entire ruined _planet_. Much cooler. There were cracks running deep through it, and its surface looked like a ruined piece of pottery, one that’s been fired too long, smashed and then stuck back together. I was curious, though. What could have enough force to ruin an entire planet?

“I’m pretty sure it was a superweapon.” I jumped. June was floating about an inch off the floor next to me. “Could you maybe not read my mind?”

“I told you, I’m not. I’m just reading the story.”

Okay. I’m definitely hallucinating.

“You’re actually not. This-” -She reached over and poked my nose- “-is definitely real.”

I turned away to cover my furious blush. “Hey, Vi. I think I got something.”

Vi turned around, having been engaged in a conversation with Halfborn. “Yeah?”

I showed her the planet.

She took the booklet, and looked at it. “Give me a second.” After asking the others, it was agreed that this was our best bet for finding the Die. The fact that I was saying _our_ was either good or really bad.

“So, I can’t warp us there, unfortunately.” Vi delivered this bit of bad news with the air of someone reciting the weather.

“Well, that’s just great.”

I sighed, but T.J. looked thoughtful. “What about that tearing thing you do?”

“That’s a form of warp travel. I can only warp to places I’ve been.”

So that’s why they arrived in a flying elevator.

A fork whistled past my ear. “What the-” I looked, and saw Vaynor trying his best to be innocent.

“You better not try that again, robot. I will cut your head off.”

Vaynor chuckled. “I’d like to see you try.”

I smirked, and whipped out my garrotte. “Happy to oblige.”

I was halfway across the room when someone stood up and grabbed my arms. Someone with a streak of brilliant pink hair.

“Alex, don’t! He’s my friend.”

The voice hit home. “Isa?”

They nodded. “Female pronouns.”

I nodded, just before those words hit another homer in my brain. “Wait. You can-”

“Yeah, I can. We can talk later.”

I sat down, still glaring at Vaynor, but Isa’s transformation was the main thought I had. Strangling that stupid robot could come later.

Vi resumed talking. “However, I do have this planet’s celestial coordinates, so we can fly there.”

Fly in what? I didn’t see a spaceport or any sort of spaceship-storage area outside.

“Vi has a spaceship. Don’t worry, Alex.” June winked reassuringly, still floating.

I really, really hated when she did that.

Vi was already on her way out the door. “The flight will take about thirteen hours, so I highly suggest you sleep on the way. You’ll be better ready that way.”

 

We all piled outside, and Vi did another one of her miracles. She pulled a tiny toy spaceship out of her pocket, threw it in the air, and it turned into an honest-to-gods real one. I swear Hearth was green with envy.

“Alright, everyone, get aboard!” She leapt to the open landing bay, and we all followed, Maggie, T.J., Mallory, Halfborn and I jumping thanks to our _einherji_ strength, Hearth, Xavier and Blitz climbing a handy ladder dropped for them, June and Isa floating up with some sort of magic, Sam doing her Valkyrie thing, and Vaynor showing off by rocket-jumping to the landing pad. Once we were all safe behind the vacuum-sealed doors, Vi showed us to our quarters. Nothing like my pad in Hotel Valhalla, but it would have to do. I couldn’t tell, but about five minutes later Vi announced our journey was starting. I laid down for some serious nappage.


	5. Slumber Party Secrets (and Alex being adorable)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay Magnus and his gang are back! Again, this is sort of a "bridge" chapter. It is longer, tho.

Alex had decided to be a girl while she slept, and I have to say, she was adorable like that.

Isa was still awake, chatting with Xavier about something.

Mallory and Halfborn were snuggled together, which was also adorable.

Vaynor was switched off in the corner, charging.

The others were dead asleep, thankfully quietly.

I got up and walked over to Xavier and Isa. “So, what are you two talking about?”

Xavier looked over. “Oh, hey. Magnus, right?” I nodded.

“What’s Boston like?”

I thought for a bit. “Messy. Lots of people, lots of diversity.”

Isa cracked a smile. “Sounds like I’d like it there.”

Something was different about Isa. I had seen them when Alex first said hi, but again, there was a definite difference between now and then. “Isa?”

“Hmm?” As my luck would have it, my brain chose that time to stumble over its words. “Were you, uh, something-”

Isa gave me a strange smile. “ I think I know what you’re talking about. And yes I was. Watch this.”

As I watched, that same weird sense of reality turning inside out came over me. Isa was still definitely Isa. And yet… “So you’re a-”

“Guy now. Yeah.” Now we had two genderfluid people on the quest. That was actually kind of awesome.

“Hey, you should get some sleep. You’re a son of Frey, right? That means you’re the healer, so we need you in top form.”

I wanted to argue, but he was right. I did need some sleep. I plopped back into my bed, and watched the room slowly fade out.

 

* * *

 

  
I don’t know why I woke up. Something just wasn’t letting me sleep properly.

Maybe it was Maggie snoring like a chainsaw. I swear, he actually sounded like a chainsaw. Complete with engine cough and all that.

I sighed, and was about to go back to sleep when I heard Isa and Xavier chatting. Seeing as I had a million questions to ask Isa, I naturally got up.

Isa heard me approach, presumably, and waved. “Hey. Your boyfriend just went to sleep.”

I blushed. “Could you maybe not talk about that? You’re not wrong, but it’s still the kinda thing that I don’t really know yet.”

“I can understand.” Isa put her chin in her hands.

Wait a second.

I examined her carefully, and it dawned on me. “You’re a guy now, right?”

“Yeah.” I sat. “Are you a shapeshifter?”

Isa laughed, covering his mouth with a hand. “I wish. I can only shift genders.”

I sat at the table next to him. “Anyone up for sharing secrets? I don’t mind.”

Isa grinned. “I thought you’d never ask, seeing as you aren’t _that_ curious.”

Xavier sat up. “How about I start, sort of as an appetizer before you two.” We all had a good chuckle at that. “So, my secret is that I’m insanely lucky.”

I was a bit skeptical. “You do know luck is just that. Luck, right? You can’t _have_ luck.”

Xavier winked a sharing-a-secret wink. “Try and hit me.”

Glad to oblige, but… “I don’t want to hurt you, Xavier.”

“Come on. You’ll be surprised.”

I sighed, took a second to sight on his face, and whipped my garrote directly at it, wincing.

Xavier didn’t even flinch. “See?”

I gasped. He was completely unhurt.

I tried again, and my sense of bewilderment grew as my garrote hit everywhere around him, but never touched his face. “This is impossible! I’m aiming right at you, but-” -I snapped it again, sending a handle whistling past his ear- “-I can’t hit you!”

Xavier grinned. “Yep. You want to go next?”

I shrugged, putting away my garrote. “ Unless Isa wants to.”

“I’ll go last. I’ve got the best story.”

“Was that a challenge?”

Isa smirked. “Only if you want it to be.”

Damn. He was as good as I was. “I guess I’ll go.” I took a deep breath. “I’m a child of Loki. That’s why I can shapeshift. I’ve been rejected most of my life, up until-”

I hesitated. _I might as well._

“-until I met Magnus. He’s the kindest, most wonderful and accepting person I’ve met in _forever_. Nobody else really truly is okay with me. I mean, T.J., Mallory and Halfborn are friends with me, but that’s it. Magnus is the only one who’s willing to step up and shoulder whatever burden I have, no matter what it is. It’s really cute, and really wonderful.” As I stopped talking, I realized exactly what I had said. “Oh gods. Uh… please don’t tell Maggie I said that.” You could have used my cheeks as a stoplight.

Isa laughed kindly, while Xavier merely smiled. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe from ‘sunshine boy’.”

I blushed even harder, and I swear my ears were on fire as well. “I’m going to get some sleep…”

“Sleep well, then.”

I climbed back into bed, and fell asleep as quickly as I could. I hadn’t heard Isa’s story, but I was way too embarrassed to stay up much longer. It could wait.

 

The Rift was a strange place to be. It bent reality itself, meaning that if you could control it, you could literally control the universe. Fortunately, the Rift was unpredictable to the point that only vehicles protected by the field of a Riftspace engine were safe from its often violent tides. Small objects would disintegrate under its force when it rose to a peak, and the scrap of a thousand collisions drifted, making travel difficult in some areas of the Rift. The shuttle sped onward, psychedelic colors glittering around it in its own private vein of the Rift. With a flash of engines, it tore away down another Rift-tunnel, and disappeared from view.


	6. The Planet Gets Alexed And June Gets Really Weird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay I finally remembered to post another chapter!

“We’re too late.”

Not the kind of words you want to hear when you’re on a quest with a serious time limit. Still, as I stood on the rather cramped observation deck, pressed up against Alex, I had to agree. Our destination looked like a cosmic Alex had thrown it across the galaxy like one of her failed pottery pieces. There was still most of the planet left, but it was in the form of this giant debris cloud orbiting a still white-hot core. Most of us were absolutely shell-shocked.

“What could have done this?” Mallory was an unpleasantly pale white as she spoke.

Vi called back from the cockpit. “My guess? The same people who tried to follow us to your timeline. It takes some serious firepower to demolish a planet, but since the Die is indestructible, they could afford not to be picky.”

Alex was just as pale as Mallory, which made her mismatched eyes stick out even more. “Just blast the whole thing and sort through the ash, right?”

“About, yes.”

Damn. This was a real pickle. I love pickles. Especially with falafel.

June popped into existence next to me, squishing Alex and me closer together and disrupting my train of thought. “Well, we could go after whoever stole the Die.”

“How would we do that?”

“I’m a context reader, remember? I could just ask the author.”

That made no sense whatsoever but okay. “Ask away.”

 

\---

 

I looked up, and locked eyes with the Author. “Hey!”

They waved back.

“Any chance you could give us a little help?”

They frowned, and thought about it for a while. “I suppose I could. It wouldn’t break any rules if I mentioned where your enemies had gone in the next paragraph.”

I grinned. “Perfect. I owe you one.”

 

\---

Unknown to the group, a fleet of strange vessels was preparing to jump into warpspace, back towards the Nine Worlds and their final destination. The fleet was hiding behind the red giant that was the center of the smashed planet’s system, away from the group’s view.

 

“Alright, Vi, I got it straight from the source. Cloak and head around the star.”

How the heck did she know that? Nevertheless, as we glided around the star, a fleet of silver vessels slid into view. I unconsciously reached for Alex’s hand, and was surprised when she returned the favor. Hand in hand, we watched the fleet get closer at an agonizing pace.

 

“Alright, people, it’s go time!”

That was my line! Nevertheless, we crowded around Vi as best we could as he laid out the mission plan in the form of another hologram. “The Die’s on this ship. Fortunately, the ship is automated, so there won’t be any guards.” He pointed to a slightly bulbous vehicle that I could recognize as a transport, thanks to my endless hours spent playing video games. “We’ll stardrop onto its surface, leaving the ship here as a decoy and for safety, and search for the Die. Quietly, you understand. There’s suits in the cargo bay. Find one that fits and prepare for drop.”

A stardrop. That sounded incredibly terrifying but also fun.

I realized that Alex’s hand had tightened on mine fractionally.

 

The stardrop suits were these weird spacesuit-like things, except tighter, and with what I assumed was a thruster pack on its back. After fumbling with it for a while and almost putting my arms through what turned out to be oxygen hose connectors, I had the suit on. I turned to look at Alex, and my jaw hit the floor.

 

I know the suits were designed for comfort and security rather than fashion, but damn. Alex was absolutely rocking it.

“You look good.” Alex nodded quickly. I noticed that her face was roughly the same color as her hair.

“You okay?”

A quick head shake. “I hate heights…”

I gave her a gentle, slightly awkward hug. “I'll be right beside you on the way down, if you want.”

A small nod.

 

Our tender moment was interrupted by Vi. “Right. Drop in one minute is set. Put on your helmets.”

I obliged, feeling it seal with a percussive snap. The radio clicked on as I did so, and I could hear Alex taking quick, short breaths.

“Hey.” I offered my hand, which she took. “It's gonna be okay.”

The ship’s bay depressurized.

“Thirty seconds to drop.”

I squeezed her hand, and got a squeeze back.

“Ten seconds to drop.”

We watched as the bay doors opened, revealing an inky blackness speckled with literally millions of stars.

“Alright, let's go!”

Vi was the first out the door, drifting for a split second before rocketing down towards our target.

Hearth leapt out next, quickly signing _booyeah!_ at me before following Vi.

Sam was third, jumping out with the confidence like she’d been doing this all her life.

Blitz, Mallory, Halfborn, T.J. and all the others followed, leaving us in the bay.

“You ready?”

She obviously wasn't, but nevertheless, we leapt together into the void.


	7. Never Ask Me To Stardrop Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things start ramping up here!  
> If you want me to, I can release my gallery of works, and you peeps can judge me on them like a bug under a microscope. (；￢_￢)

I tried to scream. I really did. The feeling of _falling_ at impossible speed, the absolute silence, the lack of support… those alone should have had me screaming my head off. But I was paralyzed with the idea that I would just fall forever. The only thing keeping me from passing out was Magnus. He was so confident. Granted, he was also terrified, but he was still smiling. I forced a few words out. “Talk to me, Maggie. Please.”

He grinned. “What about?”

“Anything. Just keep me distracted.”

“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?”

“No, actually.”

“I love your face. Your eyes are the best. I mean, it's cool to have regular eyes, but I could just stare into yours forever. They're like twin pools of honey and chocolate.”

I laughed, but I was absolutely on fire internally.

“Your chin is so cute as well. And I love your nose. It’s just so small and adorable.”

Aaaand there go my ears. “How about we talk about something else, Maggie?”

Vaynor’s voice broke in over the radio. “No, no. Keep going. This is amazing.”

My entire face caught on fire. “Did you guys hear ALL of that?”

I heard Halfborn chuckle. “All the way from eyes to nose. You two make an adorable couple.”

I gritted my teeth. “Shut up, Halfborn!” Still absolutely and utterly red, I looked over at Magnus. As expected, he was red from his chin to his kinda-really-cute nose. “Let’s just land…”

As we approached the target, our suits automatically flipped us around and began to slow us down. Much better than being splattered. Once we were safely on the hull of the transport, I hugged it and made it clear to everyone I was not going to let go.

 

Maggie really was the best. He picked me up and actually _carried_ me to where the group was gathered, which was really sweet of him. Externally, I grumbled at being “babied”, but my heart was melting for him. The gathering place was an external hatch, which was in the process of being cut through by Vaynor and his laser arm cannon thingies.

Vi explained the situation. “Once this hatch blows, spread out inside. Keep in constant contact. The Die should be somewhere in the cargo hold. When and/or if you find it, head for here and tell all of us so we can get out as fast as possible. Got that?”

Everyone murmured assent.

There was a thump as the hatch blew.

 

We all piled inside. No mean feat, as the hatch was kind of small.

“Alright, spread out!”

Vi and T.J. disappeared, presumably heading for the front. Halfborn and Mallory went down a nearby set of stairs. Sam, Blitz and Hearth headed back. Isa, Xavier and Vaynor briefly consulted a holo, and disappeared through some sort of chute. June stared at us for a second, before grinning like the Cheshire Cat and slowly vanishing.

That was really frickin’ creepy.

I guess that left me with Maggie, and surprise, surprise, I was totally fine with that. “So, where to, Maggie?”

He thought for a bit, then pointed aft. “That’s usually where the cargo hold is.”

An idea wandered into my head. In one smooth movement, I took three steps over to Magnus, swept him off his feet and picked him up.

“Hey!”

I looked at his face, which was a mixture of surprised and blushing.

“What? I’m just returning a favor.” I winked, which somehow made him blush more. “Now, to the cargo hold!” I fake-marched down the hall, carrying my prize.

 

After a while, it was clear that I had no idea where I was going, but my sense of pride would not allow me to admit that. Finally, after opening the wrong door for the third time, I cracked. “Hey, uh, Mango?”

Magnus looked up. “Yes?”

I coughed, and looked away. “If you were the door to the cargo hold, where would you be?”

He grinned that adorable sunshiny grin of his. “I’d say it was the big door behind you.”

I turned. Of course he was right. An oversized door stood in front of me. “Right. Thanks for that.” I set him down next to it, and set about trying to figure out how to actually get it open. As I was mashing a keypad in the hopes that the sheer amount of input would overload the doors, they rumbled open. “I can’t believe that actually worked.” I watched as the doors slid to the open position.

Magnus chuckled.

I rounded on him. “What’s so fun-”

Then I realized his hand was on the ‘EMERGENCY OPEN’ lever.

“Never mind…” Trying to keep the embarrassment off of my face, I strode past him into the cargo hold.

 

I thought the Die would be the only thing in there. Like, there’d be a pedestal, and the Die would be on it, and there’d be nothing else. How wrong I was.

The entire hold was full of giant cargo containers, with narrow alleyways between them. “Gods _damn_ it…” I watched my breath condense and quickly evaporate on the inside of my helmet.

Magnus squared his shoulders. “Well, let’s get looking.” He walked ahead, with his unique brand of confidence radiating off of him like the sun on a hot summer day. I followed, trying to soak up some of that glow because I _seriously_ needed it.

 

One hour, about a zillion opened crates and zero results later, even Maggie was losing his confidence. The others had found their way to the hold as well, and were ripping open crates of laser rifles, batteries, metal sheeting, girders, cable and what-have-you in an attempt to find the Die. I was deep in thought, though. My state of mind somewhat resembled meditation, and actually felt kind of good.

As I was quietly sitting there, a tendril poked at the edges of my awareness. Curious. As I reached out and poked it back, it coalesced into an arrow with frightening suddenness. I opened my eyes, startled, and realized that the arrow was still there. “Hey, guys…? I might have something.”

The group began to come back together, but I was already following the arrow. I hopped a fallen crate, and scrambled up the side of a shipping-container-sized cargo module with everyone in tow. The arrow began to pulse. I kept going, head down to follow the arrow, and nearly fell off the edge of the crate.

Thankfully, Magnus caught me by the shoulders. “Whoa there, cowboy.”

“Cow _girl_ , Mango.” I glanced at the arrow, which was pointing to a small crate just across the gap. It was _einherji_ time. I crouched down.

“Go time.”

Maggie wisely let go just before I launched myself across the gap. Even with my _ein_ credible strength (see what I did there?), I only just made it. _Nicely done, Alex. Hopefully I impressed Ma_ \- a loud _BANG_ interrupted me. Of course, it was Mango, sticking the landing even better than I did. I glared at him for a second, vaguely irritated, before walking over to the container, the arrow vanishing as I did so. “Let’s just hope this is the right one.” Without any pretense, I ripped the lid off.


	8. Escape, In More Ways Than One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALL THE ANGST  
> Just kidding  
> This chapter does have a kinda sad scene, tho. ;m;  
> I apologize for any tears I might or might not cause.

I crouched down beside Alex, staring at the Greater Die of Destiny. “Wow.”  
Alex grinned. “Wow is right. Now all we gotta do is get home safe.”  
I watched as Alex sealed it back up, then followed the group as we headed back for the hatch, Die in tow. Things were going absolutely swimmingly right up until we launched off of the transport.

“Incoming!” Vi did a graceful barrel roll to avoid a laserbolt that nearly hit my leg. At least a few of us panicked.  
“We’re gonna die!” Vaynor began to shake.  
“Shut up, you bucket of bolts!” Alex shot over and actually slapped Vaynor. Kudos to her. More laserfire arrowed past us as we dove into our ship’s landing bay, getting hopelessly tangled in the process. Vi was up in an instant, bringing the whole thing online and prepping us for departure or whatever it is you do with spaceships. As the bay doors closed, I was treated to the sight of a swarm of fighters closing in.

Within seconds, we were away, with a swarm of deadly silver bees following us.  
“Get us out of here!” Mallory yelled at the cockpit.  
“What do you think I’m doing?!” Vi shot back. He threw the ship into an evasive barrel roll, sending all of us crashing against the walls like clothes in a dryer. “Hold on!”  
Alex removed her helmet and rubbed her head. “Shoulda told us that five seconds ago…”

We accelerated through space, and as the ship and my stomach stopped doing acrobatics, I deduced that we were in warpspace. Now that the danger was past, we all worked on removing our suits.

“Alright, you all, get some sleep. I have a feeling this isn’t over.”  
Wow. Vi was really optimistic. Then again, I didn’t see much cause for him to be optimistic. We were just chased by lots of deadly fighters, and barely escaped with our lives. All the same, we were in transit. Feeling nervous but also marginally optimistic, I fell asleep.

\---

I yawned. Magnus never failed to be adorable, even while he was asleep. Maybe I would treat him, just this once. I stripped down to my undies, adjusted my bra, and climbed into bed with him. Thanks to his wonderful, sunshine-laden warmth, I was asleep and napping like a cat on a hot summer day within minutes.

\---

I found myself, along with Alex, on a battlefield. Judging from the fire giants, various Aesir and Vanir, and assorted einherji around us in pitched battle, it was probably Vigridr, the last battlefield. Not exactly Disneyland. I suddenly became aware that I was dreaming. I know that sounds kind of cheesy, but it’s true. I knew that this was a dream. I knew that what we were seeing wasn’t real. Or at least, wasn’t real at the moment.  
“Thankfully, it isn’t real.” I jumped. Vi was floating next to me.  
“How did you get here? You’re supposed to be piloting the ship!”  
“I am piloting the ship. I’m just also here.”  
That made no sense. Confusion seemed to be a common feeling around Vi. I reached for Alex’s hand, which I was relieved to find was real. Alex turned, and sort of half-smiled at me. I took careful note of the fact that he was now a guy.  
“You dreaming too?”  
I nodded. “Yeah. Apparently this is a shared dream.”  
Alex looked back over the battlefield. He looked pale and somehow uneasy.  
“You okay?”  
Alex shook his head. “I don’t know. Too many thoughts.”  
Vi looked at both of us, and I suddenly had the feeling that he knew what Alex was thinking. “Come with me.”  
Alex and I followed. I didn’t know about Alex, but I was suddenly on the verge of absolute terror. “Where are we going?”  
“To see your future.” Vi continued to float across the battlefield, seemingly unaffected by the horrific carnage around us. I tried my best to shield my eyes, and continued to follow Vi through Virgridr.  
Eventually, we arrived at a clearing in the battle. I looked, and rubbed my eyes, because I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing. Alex and I were back-to-back, fighting off wave after wave of wolves, jotuns, and undead soldiers. I was watching myself fight my final battle.  
“This is where you both will die.” Vi spoke with a heaviness that I hadn’t heard him use before. In precisely twenty-seven seconds, Magnus will take a fireball to save Alex.”  
I winced. It sounded all too much like Vi had watched this whole thing at least once before.  
Twenty-seven seconds elapsed, and exactly as predicted, a fireball roared through the air, headed straight for dream-Alex. Dream-me shoved her out of the way, just in time for the fireball to explode and sear his flesh. I resisted the urge to scream, to vomit, do anything else besides watch myself die. Why? I guess it’s really hard not to want to watch your own death, for some morbid reason.  
“Magnus, the last thing you will ever feel and see will be Alex. She will kiss you as you die.” Dream-Alex, with tears pouring down her face, bent and cradled what was left of dream-me. I couldn’t make out words, but she bent and kissed him gently, then slowly laid him down and got up with a dark, murderous rage in her eyes.  
“Exactly four minutes and fifteen seconds later, after maiming her mother and laying waste to several dozen jotun, Alex will succumb to her wounds, and lay down to die next to Magnus.” Vi’s face was an expressionless mask, but Alex was sobbing silently. This was the most emotional I had ever seen her. Dream-Alex laid down, bleeding from a thousand cuts, her right arm blackened, hugged dream-me gently, and was still. The battlefield faded out.  
“Why would you show us this?!” Alex rounded on Vi, tears floating off his face in the sudden lack of gravity.  
“I show you this because I want you to understand why I came.” A single tear ran down Vi’s cheek. “I don’t want any more death. Not like that.”  
Alex continued to sob. I floated over and hugged him, trying not to cry myself, and we both fell back into a deep, black sleep.

\---

The shuttle sped onward through the Rift, the tearing of space that allowed all starships to traverse the stars at impossible speed. Its inhabitants slept an uneasy sleep, burdened by things they didn’t want. They had no idea what was in store for them, or what waited for them on the other side of the Ri-  
“What you writing about?” Oh Jegus. June, I have told you before, you can’t interfere with my narration.  
“I won’t, don’t worry. I just want to watch.” But you are! See, you’ve already got me out of my stride, and I’m not supposed to be conversing with characters, or talking without brackets!  
“Alright, geez. Mr. Grumpy McGrumpface over here! I’ll just go back to my nap…” Good Christ almighty. Let’s just get back to the story…

The shuttle eventually exited the Rift in Midgard, and dove towards Earth. It braved the heat of reentry, and touched down outside Boston, unseen. The party of adventurers exited, not knowing that they were in fact followed.

\---

I had no idea that sleeping curled against Maggie like that would leave me so sore. As I stepped off the shuttle, something in my back popped. “Aaaaahh.” I curled over, trying to coax more pops from my back.  
“Whatcha doing?” Vaynor walked up beside me.  
I groaned, although that might have just been from the stiff back. “I’m trying to regain my movement, robot.”  
“I have a name, you know.”  
I was about to make a biting retort when Vi stepped between us. “Cut it out, you two. We have a schedule to keep.”  
I wasn’t aware of any schedule, but nevertheless, I followed her as she walked towards Centre Street.

We got to what was apparently the center of Boston, and Vi got out the crate we had “liberated” from the transport. She deftly pulled the lid off, ignoring the people staring at us. “This is it.” She cradled the Die in her hands, its soft white glow illuminating her face.  
Of course, when someone says that, you know the worst is just about to hit.


	9. We Get An Upgrade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Battle time!

 

“Oh no…”

I whipped my head around. June was staring into the sky.

“What are you staring at?”

“That.” June pointed, and a starship materialized almost exactly where she was pointing.

I shoved aside my confusion at _how_ she knew that thing was going to be there. Right now, my concern was for Magnus. Everyone else could come after.

Admirably, Vi didn’t panic, even when civilians were screaming and running around us. She never seemed to. “Right. I knew this was going to happen, sooner or later. That’s a dropship, so it doesn’t carry much in the way of weaponry. Unfortunately, it does carry a lot of heavily armed Stux soldiers.”

“ _What_ soldiers?”

“Stux. Technically it’s Stux’iwth, but everyone just calls them the Stux. They’re a race of mercenaries, fighting for the highest bidder.”

Great. Now we had to deal with a bunch of murderous aliens. “Can I strangle them?”

“Probably not with that garrotte. But…” Vi rummaged in her bag, which I had never actually noticed up until that point. “Here.” She chucked something that looked like one of those grip-exerciser things at me. I instinctively caught it, and when I tried to pull it apart, a long line of energy grew between the handles.

“Whoa.” That was impressive. I stowed it. Hopefully it would come in handy later.  

Vi continued to pull objects out of her bag: a round coaster and a square one, a small metal stick, a fatter stick with a cone on the end, two rectangular bars, a strange amulet and a pair of sword hilts. “Right. Catch.”

She threw the round coaster at me, and I swear on my life, it _expanded_ in midair, metal unfolding from seemingly nowhere, taking on a tube-like shape. I caught the newly formed object, and my hands found a pair of handgrips.

“Plasma bazooka.” Vi helpfully explained.

I could work with this. Resting it on my shoulder, I went to aim at a car, but was distracted by the fact that the Stux had debarked from their dropship and were advancing on us. Welp, field-test it is then. I took half a second to aim, and fired a bolt of solid white light. The front line of soldiers exploded. “Subtle. I like it.”

I looked over. Magnus was wielding a pair of white pistols, Jack floating beside him. Mallory had something that looked like a stubby, cone-barreled rifle. Halfborn was resting a gigantic missile launcher on his shoulder, grinning like a loon. T.J. was carrying a dark-gray sniper rifle that was nothing like his old Springfield. The look on his face was enough to make a lesser person curl up and die.

“Right.” I dropped into a fighting stance. “LET’S DO THIS!” We charged at the advancing army, outnumbered a million to one, with nothing except our clothes and some fancy weaponry to protect us. Best idea ever.

 

The Stux soldiers on the front leveled their rifles, and fired. I fully expected to die at that moment, but their bolts of energy were stopped by a suspiciously pink bubble-shield. I looked back. Isa was grinning, her (maybe? Probably.) hands glowing the same pink as she kept us safe. Mallory returned fire, a brilliant cone of blue-white plasma melting the front-line soldiers to a foul-smelling goo. At least her weapon matched her personality. Halfborn and I both let loose with a barrage of missiles and plasma bolts, screaming with the craziest kind of glee. This was just about as much fun as I had ever had in my life.

 

* * *

 

As Alex (still female) and Halfborn were busy causing a gratuitous amount of death, I took a moment to look back at the dropship. It was still there, unfortunately. I turned my eyes back to the battle. Something occurred to me: Where was Sam?

 

A plate of metal shifted on the dropship, unseen by our heroes. With a scraping, hissing noise, a single, arrowhead-shaped projectile was dispensed from the opening, and dove towards Magnus.

 

For some reason, June wasn’t fighting. She was just sort of staring at the sky. All of a sudden, she grabbed me and dragged me to the pavement. Something roared over our heads.

“There was no time to tell you to duck.” Well, thanks, I guess? I looked behind me. The something turned out to be this strange pointy missile. It flared a quartet of wings, banked in a tight circle, and flew back at us.

June pushed me to my feet. “Go. RUN!” I didn’t hesitate. Feet, don’t fail me now! I sprinted down the street, but I could hear the hiss of the missile gaining on me. June’s voice broke into my head, somehow. “Magnus, jump back like you’re doing a backflip!” But wouldn’t I just crack my head on the- “DO IT!” I did a flip. That’s right, you heard me correctly.

Fortunately, as the missile shot underneath me and blew up a car, something prevented me from cracking my skull open. June had somehow caught me.

“Ups-a-daisy.” She put me back upright again. “Alright, we need to take out that ship.” I looked up just in time to see a fresh flock of missiles heading towards us. Fantastic.

* * *

 

I was just slicing the head off of one of those stupid Stux soldiers when a sound like metal on metal stabbed into my ears. I looked up. The dropship had deployed a flock of missiles, and they were heading straight for Magnus. A horrifying vision of the dream we had together flickered through my mind like a bolt of lightning. _Not this time._ I launched myself off of the soldier’s torso, hit the ground and sprinted towards Magnus.

 

* * *

 

June actually grinned when she saw the missiles. I don’t know why. I ran, and she just stood still. Then I think my brain stopped working. She started dancing like some loon from Broadway, singing gods damn “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”. All while missiles were exploding around her. I continued to run, and almost ran into Alex.

 

“Thank the gods you’re okay.” Alex hugged me tentatively. I hugged her back.

“How about we get out of here?”

“Great idea.” Alex turned, and suddenly went white. “More missiles!” She pushed me flat to the street. For the second time, I got a up-close-and-personal smell of burnt, bloodied asphalt. Yay.

 

* * *

 

I was NOT going to let my Magnus die to a bunch of alien goons! The only way he got to die was by my hand, when I was pissed off at him, and ONLY THEN in the hotel. So quite a lot. I was just about ready to actually try and strangle the missiles when I remembered the bazooka. I aimed. “Where’s the rapid fire?” I fumbled with the controls. “Where is it?!”

Vi’s voice rang in my head, sharp and clear. “Dial above your left thumb.”

I twisted the dial and let loose a practically solid wall of plasma. Missiles exploded left and right, raining smoking metal fragments and bits of plastic-like substance onto me. Eventually, I lowered the bazooka, which was venting thin trails of steam from a bleed valve at the back. My ears were roaring, singing a song of adrenaline. I turned back to Magnus, exhilarated from the last couple of seconds and happy that he was safe. I took a step forward, and that’s when the last missile hit me in the back.


	10. My Significant Other Gets Blown To Bits, But Don’t Worry, There’s Time Magic!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have poured my soul into this scene. Well, the black, dead, angsty part of my soul, anyways.  
> As the title says, it gets better.

Everything went fuzzy except me and Alex. A static whine descended upon the outside noise, and time slowed to a crawl. I watched in horror as Alex was flung forward with a smoking hole in her chest, did a morbidly graceful backflip, and slammed into the ground face-up with a _crack_ that seemed to rattle the universe. I was at her side in an instant, kneeling in the already-growing pool of blood. _It’s okay, Magnus. You’re the son of Frey. You can heal her._ I tried. I really did. I got as far as stopping the blood loss before something snapped deep inside me, my power expended. I curled over, sobbing, and laid my head on her collarbone.

“Magnus.” Her voice was weak. My head came up. Alex was looking at me, her amber and brown eyes still clear despite her wounds. “Magnus, I’m so-” She made a weak noise that sounded sort of like a cough. “I’m so sorry.”

My eyes welled up even more.

A bit of blood trickled from her mouth. “We would have had… such a… life together. I promised myself I would... try to be my best for you.” She laughed weakly. “I guess I broke... my promise.”

I broke down. “You can’t die! I love you. I’d never forgive myself!” My brain was going into a fiery nosedive.

“It’s not your... fault, Magnus. It was mine. I was the... one who saved you. I wouldn't... have it any... other way.” She tried to lift her head. I leaned down, understanding what she meant, and kissed her. I tried to shove my soul out through that kiss, in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, she would be okay. I opened my eyes, and Alex was still.

My brain finally finished that nosedive and detonated against the floor of my consciousness with an almost-audible _boom_ . I stared at Alex’s still form, uncomprehending. _Maybe she’ll revive?_ I clung to that notion for a few seconds before I realized that she was actually, really and truly dead.

“Nonononono… ALEX!” I shook her frantically, as if to wake her, but she remained cold and still, her beautiful eyes closed forever.

With that, I began truly sobbing in earnest, my heart fracturing into a thousand pieces.

 

* * *

 

I watched the tragedy play out. I had long ago learned to control my emotions, but this was proving to be a serious challenge. As it was, I was sobbing internally. I ran through my options, and came up with the only one that would work at this point.

As I pulled it out of my bag, the small white cube pulsed softly. I connected to Magnus, and briefly explained what I was going to do. Once that was done, I held the quartz cube up tight to my mouth, and whispered the activation phrase. “By casting you, I give up my own fate so I may save another’s.” The cube glowed white, and I winced as it started to burn my palm. “Here goes nothing.” I threw the cube at Alex as hard as I could, aiming to skim it along the pavement like a skipping stone.

 

* * *

 

I was still sobbing brokenly over my girlfriend’s body when I heard Vi’s bell-clear voice in my head.

“Magnus. You need to move away from her.”

I had absolutely no intention of doing that. I continued to cling to Alex.

“Magnus, you need to move because I’m going to save her!”

I stifled a gulp, and gently got off of her.

Vi threw something at us. The something glittered in the early-morning sunlight as it flew. It struck the ground, and I expected it to go _click_ or _tack_ or make some other small sound, like you would expect from a die or a marble. Instead, as it tapped the ground, reality buzzed and hummed, as if from some cosmic gong-strike. My ears were ringing, and even though I put my hands over them to try and block out the noise, it still was as loud and clear as if I hadn’t. The object hit the ground twice more, then smacked into Alex’s shoulder and stopped absolutely dead. With a faint buzz, it hurtled back towards Vi.

 

* * *

 

I winced as the Lesser Die that I had cast flew back into my palm. It hovered just above the burn mark it had created, and began to spin along all three of its axes. Reality liquified and separated like oil and water. I held the Die, palm out, and it glowed brightly, still hovering above the burn. _Make Alex alive again._ It responded to my thoughts, glowing ever brighter. The oil and water of reality scrambled, and reformed. As it finished recombining, there was a small _pop_ from my hand. The Die had shattered into quartz grit, and had left a rune scorched into my palm, which resembled an hourglass. A moment passed, then a searing wave of pain rushed up my arm and clawed at my head with a similar _pop_. I knelt, holding my burnt hand and grimacing.

 

* * *

 

Everything rippled for a second. I looked back at Alex. The hole in her chest was gone, but she was still pale and unmoving. I tried to blink away the tears, and was about to start crying hopelessly again when she coughed. Everything dissolved into a whirlwind of ecstatic joy. I scooped her up. “Alex… oh, Alex.” I kissed her, long and hard, trying to convey exactly how much I missed her.

 

* * *

 

I watched as Magnus and Alex were reunited. The burst of temporal energy had also somehow scrambled our assailants out of existence, but my magic sense told me that wasn’t all it had done. I tried to heal the rune, but it refused to move, a reminder of what I had done etched into my palm.

 

* * *

 

My brain seemed to have been frozen for an indeterminate amount of time. I found myself in Magnus’s arms, being kissed. I rather liked that. “Hey, Maggie. What’s up?” Magnus simply hoisted me to my feet, letting me take a better look at him. Wait a minute… I took a long, hard look at him. “Heh… now I can actually call you Maggie and be justified about it.”

“What?” Magnus looked down. “Oh gods…” He, or rather, she, now sported a pair of B-cup breasts, as well as an attractively female appearance. “What the Helheim?!”

I laughed, and squeezed Maggie’s left breast, eliciting a rather adorable blush from him. Wait. Her. This was going to be confusing.

“Side effect of the temporal rearrangement, I should imagine.” Vi strode up beside us. “If you want, I’ll fix it.”

Magnus started to protest, but I cut him(her, damnit) off. “Maybe later. This is fine for now.”

Vi smirked knowingly. “Alright.” Her smile vanished. “Wait, where’s everyone else?”

I looked, and she was indeed right. Everyone else was in fact missing. “Maybe they went back to the ship?” I was having trouble believing that myself. “I mean, we can just fix everything without them, right?”

“Doubtful.” Vi started walking back towards our shuttle. “If I don’t know where they are, I don’t know what will happen to them when I muck about with the timeline.”

Welp. I guess we had to find them. I followed Vi, dragging Maggie along.


	11. A Chapter All About Me! :3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HOORAY FINALLY I FINISHED ANOTHER CHAPTER  
> God DAMN that feels good. Sorry for the inordinately long wait, but I had SO MUCH LIFE to wade through.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy! This one's all about June.
> 
> (yes it's kind of short, but there's another chapter starring June coming as well.)

I hummed happily as I skipped along the side of a building. Everyone else was off somewhere else, but I was sure they’d turn up eventually. Hold on. Let me just take a quick peek… no, he didn’t write anything about where they went. Fantastic. Now I actually have to work to find them. 

I started by following our wonderful heroes. Something had happened to Magnus. Apparently he was a girl now. That brings back memories. Forgive my shoddy use of tense. I can never really tell whether I’m seeing the past, present or future. But I digress. I had to hunt for the missing members of our group, all by my lonesome. 

Fortunately, it wouldn’t be hard. I was pretty sure that Magnus, Alex and Vi would be able to find the members of my group. I found Blitz and Hearth tangled up in a probably-totally-accidental way about halfway down the street. After moving them back to Vi, and possibly accidentally dumping them right on top of Alex, I continued to hunt. T.J. was knocked silly at the top of a hill in some park. I imagine he tried to charge the tree at the top of it, thinking it was an enemy. Silly T.J. I dropped him off -literally- with Vi, and went to look for Mallory. She was nowhere to be seen. Odd. Give me a second, I’m just going to…

“Hello, Mr. Author!” The Author just about jumped out of his chair as I popped into his office.   
“What the hell are you doing here?! Get back to your story!”   
I looked at him. “What?”  
He sighed. “I can’t just write you back in, so you really have to leave.”  
“About that… I think your coffee is burning.”  
“WHAT?!” He rushed out of the office, presumably to check on his precious coffee. As he left, I quickly sat down at his computer. Here goes nothing.  
Thirty seconds later, I had made the necessary edits to get everything back together. As fate would have it, the Author chose that moment to walk back in. There was a clatter as his coffeecup hit the floor.  
“What are you-” He looked at the screen. “AGH! What did you do?!”   
With a violent shove, I was removed from the chair. I floated up to the ceiling and watched him warily.   
“You’ve ruined all the relationships! Vi already has a partner, and it’s NOT Alex! What is this nonsense with Vaynor and T.J.?! What- WHY is there an orgy scene?!” His British accent was really leaking out now. “What were you thinking?!”  
I shrugged. “I wanted to make Tumblr happy.” Wrong answer, evidently. 

“No, no, no, no, no! You can’t just-” He sputtered. “You can’t just waltz in here and muck about with the story!”   
“But isn’t that what Vi’s going to do in a while?”  
“That is part of the story! This-” -He gestured frantically at the screen- “Is a horrid mess!”   
I grumbled. “Can’t a girl have fun once in a while?”  
“Yes, but not in someone else’s story! Please, for the sake of my sanity, return to the arc.”  
I reluctantly left the Office, and dove back through the shattered planes of reality, back into the story. 

The Author had to go and ruin all my hard work by making everything normal again. Ugh. I watched as the group organized back at the shuttle. Magnus was a guy again, but poor Sam was still missing. I hope she’s okay. I mean, she’s a Valkyrie, right? She’ll be able to hold- waitaminute. Valkyries are angels… I’m- oh no. A sudden flash of intuition rocketed through my head. This is going to be a potential problem.

“Hey! Hey! Vi! Magnus! Alex! We have a problem!” I hovered above the group.   
“What is it, June?” Vi looked up at me.   
“I think I know who took-”   
-a flash of mercury  
-shattered memories  
-an unyielding hand, cruel and all-encompassing  
-my mother’s face, kind but scared  
-my father  
-my wings blowing away in a blizzard of glass and scattered hope  
-falling  
-falling  
-falling  
I fell to the ground with a heavy thump. My face was even paler than it normally was, my eyes huge and scared. “I know who took Sam.”

I took the yoke of the shuttle. This was going to be tough. I reached deep inside myself, past the broken memories and shattered fragments of my magic, all the way down to the core, where the last couple of my whole spells resided. With a painful tug, I pulled out the first spell my mom had ever taught me: a spell to find your way home. It glittered before me, a fractal diamond of immense complexity. With a flick of my hand, the spell-diamond tumbled through the hull and soaked into the engines. I grimaced. This was the part I hated. I pushed the throttle to full and reality fractured around us, spiraling away in a million different fragments down thousands of different probability channels. I held onto the yoke as best I could, trying to guide us down the brightest channel. Bolts of raw energy coursed around us, tearing rents in the shuttle’s hull and setting off- most? All? Yeah, all- of the alarms on the dash. With a deft flick, I rolled the shuttle around a fragment of reality and dove towards the light.


End file.
